Secretary Wyman listens as Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon testifies before the Senate  Government Operations Committee on HB 1267, the voter registration deadline bill that he has prime-sponsored. (Photo courtesy of Gracelin Moore)

A bill seeking to change voter registrations deadlines before a Primary or General Election has drawn the support of Secretary of State Wyman, the state’s chief elections official.

House Bill 1267 would extend the online registration deadline to 11 days before the election, rather than the current 29 days. The in-person registration deadline would be adjusted to the same 11-day deadline, from the current eight. The mail-in registration deadline would be changed from 29 to 28 days. The House passed the measure earlier this session and awaits action in the upper chamber.

Wyman told the Senate Government Operations Committee Thursday that the bill would make the voting process easier by allowing voter registrations to be processed more efficiently and accurately by using the most cost-effective process.

HB 1267 would establish that last-minute electronic registrations will coordinate with the in-person registration deadline and that the deadline is moved back three days, from a Monday to a Friday, she noted. This allows for additional time to process the last-minute registrations accurately by county auditors, she and sponsors said. Moving the mail-in deadline from a Monday to a Tuesday would address the issue of registration applications not being postmarked in time due to a federal holiday. The U.S. Postal Service does not postmark on federal holidays, such as Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Columbus Day, which fall on Mondays before certain registration deadlines.